Markets in Dublin

Corsendonk

Just doing some research into family history. Of particular interest is the Corporation Fruit & Veg market that still exists and the Cattle Market which is no more. I remember hearing from a work mate how her father would drive cattle in by foot from Dunshaughlin to the cattle market in Dublin. My grandfather told me about an abbatoir on the Quays were he would pick up dung sometimes containing animal offcuts and blood after he delivered to the Corporation market. So how did the markets function in Dublin Life? Has anyone got images?

mikemac

Cattle farming, finally a thread I can contribute to :pac:

Coming in from Meath there was a mart on the North Circular Road
Had close access to rail through Liffey Junction. The Midland Great Western Railway covered a lot of the country, I suppose the furthest west was Achill Island but not exactly cattle country out there.

Closer to my own area, what we call the Nenagh line simply as it's the biggest line would also bring cattle to the Dublin docks
Here is Cloughjordan

Tipp cattle are far superior to what you have in Meath :cool:

But yes, certainly not unheard of families and workers to herd cattle and as distances go, Dunshauglin to Dublin wouldn't be exceptional. No jeeps or horsebox trailers back then.

** The cattle market was bordered by Aughrim Street, Prussia Street and the North Circular Road. It was demolished to make way for housing, which pretty much sums up Ireland’s economic output since the 1970s.

Replaced by Corporation housing and flats



Back then there was a lot of private and back street abbatoirs
interesting read here
There was a Dublin Corporation abbatoir on Blackhorse Lane just off the Navan Road, sensible enough to be located close to the mart.
But this is Ireland and vested interest rule!

Seems the Corporation wanted to centralize the slaughtering to improve standards but the Dublin Cowkeepers and Dairymens Association lobbied hard for exemptions.
So instead of taking the cattle from the mart across the Corporation abbatoir, the cattle were driven around the city to various back street abbatoirs with questionable sanitary conditions and little regulation.
Obviously this is dangerous to have cattle being herded down the streets and of course fouls up the streets.
There is a story in the book of one beast getting on the rail tracks at Kingsbrige , and running all the way past Inchicore to Ballyfermot while being chased by mounted constables.

Because the Corporation abbatoir was just outside city limits the butchers argued they could not be forced to use it, a loophole. Clever eh! Even when Blackhorse Lane was included in city limits in 1890 they had councillors lobbying for them.

Much the same way with the slums in Dublins, a lot of the councillors were actually landlords. Ireland was crooked back then too :mad:

This is Phibsboro by the NCR


Many cattle were then driven down to the docks

This is the Slieve League which could manage

The Slieve League arrived in Holyhead in 1935. Space onboard was provided for 642 head of cattle and 14 horses. There were also 46 temporary horse stalls and 22 sheep pens on the outside decks. All told there was space for up to 114 crane-loaded trade cars, but as far as cargo was concerned any type offered could be stowed in the hold.

Usually passengers were not carried on the cargo ships but the exception to this rule was from Dublin on Thursdays, the day of the cattle market, when drovers accompanying herds or horses’ grooms were catered for. Generally it was the midday departure from the Irish port that was graced by the kings of the cattle-market.

Photo from 1965, check out all the flats in the background, looks grim. This is the MV Munster which was not a cargo ship. But I realy like this picture and you can see the livestock pens in the centre of the photo